Old Metropolis, Veria

Veria Municipality, Greece

Freely accessible

Public space — no opening hours to check.

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The Old Metropolis in Veria, a city in Central Macedonia, northern Greece, is a Byzantine basilica originally dedicated to Saint Paul and built in the early 11th century during the Venetian period. Following the Ottoman conquest, it was converted to a mosque in 1430, known as the Hünkar Mosque (Imperial Mosque), and served this function until 1912, when it was abandoned after the Balkan Wars. The structure was subsequently reconsecrated as a church, though it later fell into disrepair after being used for secular purposes. As of 2016, the building was undergoing renovation to be reconsecrated once again as a place of worship. Now an archaeological site and protected building in Greece, the Old Metropolis stands as a palimpsest of the region's complex religious and political history, embodying both Byzantine and Ottoman architectural traditions.